5 Things To Remember If You Love Someone With Anxiety

What is anxiety?

Having anxiety can be like living in a world of emotional confusion, a world in which the person is constantly preparing to cope with upcoming negative events. Being a future-orientated mood state, an anxiety sufferer can be fraught with daily challenges and will embark on meticulous planning so that situations can be avoided just to accommodate the condition. But it’s not just the person with anxiety who is suffering, it can be equally exhausting for the people around them. The demands on both physical and mental support can be overwhelming as the emotional needs of your loved one change daily, and sometimes it can be hard to understand the reasoning behind it all.

Signs of anxiety

Early indicators of anxiety can be easily interpreted as signs of stress, such as trouble sleeping, headaches and general irritability, but when anxiety becomes excessive, it can bring on many physical conditions like heart palpitations, trouble with breathing, hyperventilation and feeling faint. It’s understandable when anxiety has got to this stage, that it is in the forefront of the sufferers’ mind and the steps they take to avoid agitation of the condition can be incredible.

5 things to keep in mind when dealing with an anxiety sufferer

1. Helping the hyper-sensitive

Being in an anxious state means the person is feeling hyper-tense and super aware of everything going on around them. Every sight, sound and smell, every movement and every person can keep them on high alert and can cause them to feel in a constant spin. The fear of panic attacks can also make them a prisoner in their own home.

To encourage a person with anxiety to leave their home, you must remember the stimuli that they will have to cope with and how this can be overwhelming for them. Be mindful of what we do as an everyday occurrence, such as leaving the house, can be a huge deal for them and they are feeling very vulnerable. Reassure them once they have left their house, that they are able to go home at any time.

2. Learn to understand their over-thinking

Another side of anxiety is the constant over-thinking, which leads to an inability to ‘let things go’. Often this is because the anxiety has come from an underlying event which they have not yet dealt with properly. They know that their fear shouldn’t bother them, but try as they might, they cannot use the same logic as others, so expecting them to control their anxiety is difficult and in some cases impossible, unless the root cause has been dealt with.

3. Bring them back to the present

Anxiety sufferers can often get caught up in the depths of their thoughts, and you’ll most likely notice them looking vacant from time to time. A gentle reminder of where and what you are doing can be enough to bring them back to the present moment. Take a look at how mindfulness can help with anxiety and how to start bringing this into their lives, and your own.

4. Communication connection

Anxiety sufferers are perfectly able to express themselves and communicate, so make sure you take the time to really listen. In some cases, they may have had a bad experience opening up, and therefore can shy away from talking. Let them have the opportunity to voice what they want to say and communicate how they feel. They will appreciate you for not being dismissive, and this can be very beneficial for them.

5. Just hang out

The effects of anxiety can be difficult for everyone involved, but most of the time, the sufferer will not be oblivious to what it takes to support them. They understand their irrationality can be draining, so the support of you being around them is a much bigger help than you can imagine. Spending time with other people takes their mind off their anxiety and that time can really make a difference to them.

How The Fountainhead Retreat can help for anxiety relief

Holistic help for anxiety relief is available and the programs we run at Fountainhead Retreat are structured in a safe, non-judgmental environment. Our trained Fountainhead Method™ Life Coaches are experts in finding the triggers for anxiety and dealing with it, and by implementing The Fountainhead Method™ these techniques can be successful for a life of reduced anxiety.

For more information on our holistic programs for stress, anxiety and depression at Fountainhead Retreat, please contact us or call 1300 294 290.